Yellow Stealth

Hey mate, I've seen a few people use the profish reload. It's quite capable in the surf. Generally speaking, the longer the kayak, the more capable it is in the surf and open water in terms of speed and punching through waves. No reason why you can't also use the Viking kayaks inside lake systems. Viking kayaks also make a little electric motor that can be attached to the rudder. It's called the Bixpy. From the looks of it, it looks really handy in terms of power assisted paddling. Quite expensive though (I think it costs about $2500). Me personally, I have a stealth fusion kayak. Im quite pleased with its performance in the surf and on open waters. If you're planning on doing more surf launches, I would say the profish reload is the better option.

This is based upon my personal experiences and opinions. Feel free to disagree I wouldn't recommend fishing with rods over 7ft on the kayak. Imagine trying to secure/net the fish as its on the side of the kayak. If you have to reach quite far, you risk losing balance. You have to be able to secure the fish while staying balanced. Why 7ft? This is the longest rod that I can take on my kayak that will fit into my fish/storage hatch. At the same time, I am a still able to comfortably net the fish and secure the rod in the holder. I imagine it would be somewhat more difficult if the rod is longer than 7ft. You could always use a longer net. Nothing wrong with that. I don't use them as they are not convenient for me to quickly pull out of my hatch and use. While longer rods do give you more leverage in fighting the fish, I feel as though there's a maximum point to this principle when it comes to kayak fishing. Different to fighting fish on boat and land, you also have to maintain your balance on the yak while fighting the fish. Additionally, as you are in a seated position, the maximum leverage you can apply is also limited. Hence why I feel as though 7ft is the maximum length. If you are dropping a bait/livie under a heavy sinker, any rod that can support the weight and is between 6-7ft long will do. With regards to jigging, I currently use an Abu Garcia Veritas 3.0 spin jig PE 3-5 matched with fin nor LT 80 spooled with PE 5 braid. Why PE 3-5? I prefer a more mechanical jigging motion when going for kingfish. Also, depending on depths, currents etc, the weight of my jigs will also vary (from 60grams to 160grams +). The weight of the reel is abit heavy but I don't mind as i've gotten use to it. It's recommended that you get a rod that is specific to jigging. My thoughts are that jigging rods are designed to work heavier jigs and impart the desired action. I won't get into rods designed for slow pitch jigging as that's a different topic. I think i recall reading that you have a pair of slammer 3 in the 10500 size? If that's the case, finding the right rod to suit the size of your reel may be abit of a challenge. Of course, if you could, i would suggest buying a jigging rod and a new reel to match. There are some on the market that won't hurt the wallet but also are quite good. Being honest, I think your arms will get tired very quickly if you tried to jig with a 10500 slammer 3. My opinion is that it would be better to save some money, do some research on what is available within your budget and progressively acquire the gear that you need rather than making any impulsive purchases only to regret them. If you are curious, I would take normally 3-4 rods out on my yak. 1 sabiki rod. 1 soft plastic rod. 1 live bait or slow jig rod and 1 heavier jigging rod. Lately though, I haven't been fishing with live baits and would take my jigging and soft plastic rods. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Also, I am abit suspicious of ebay items that claim to have high grade carbon fibre at that price. Even an unbranded carbon fibre kayak paddle is likely to set me back around $200. If it's too good to be true, it usually is. I can understand why you would want to have a heavier rod on the yak so that you can run a heavier sinker. You could definitely get by with a lighter rod. So I can be more specific with my input as a fellow kayak fisho, how many rods can you store on your kayak? I get the impression you're looking for a one set up to suit all occasions.

Hey mate, I have friends who go sharking quite often for big bulls, bronze sharks and the odd great white. It would be alot more comfortable to take the yak to a beach, paddle out to drop the baits and then come back. You can be waiting quite some time for the bite. Better to be rested and comfortable for the long fight. Most kayak fishos I know (myself included) would not target sharks on kayaks. We only get them as a by catch. Consider how much drag pressure you can apply before the stability of your yak is compromised. In the same token, if you're drag is too lose, you would be in for a long tow before recovering your line back. As you can see, much better to fight them on land or on boat.

A few weeks ago, I took a break from kayak fishing to relax with a bit of beach fishing with my wife. Kayak fishing can be tiring at times. Especially so when the fish aren't chewing and the session turns into a long cardio workout. Arrived at the local beach (Cronulla/Wanda) armed with some squid and pilchards. No clear gutters were observable but i did notice 2 small holes through all the white water. Casting into the wind wasn't fun but, thankfully, the holes weren't out of casting range. Fished the high tide and managed to land 2 jewfish in quick succession during sunset/last light period. 1st one measuring 94cm and the second measuring 75 cm (no photo attached). Smaller one was released and the bigger one was kept for the plate. Very surprised to say the least considering I was expecting the fish to be a chunky salmon or a small shark based on how hard they hit the baits. Interestingly, the squid bait went untouched and both fish were caught on whole pilchards. Rigged the pilchards via 2 x 3/0 circle hooks (snelled) and 2x 5/0 circle hooks (snelled). With some better weather on the horizon, I will return to my pursuit of a 1 metre kingfish caught on kayak and give the beach fishing a break.

Hi Cooper, I have a Stealth Fusion 480. It is a paddle kayak. The advantage of this type of fishing kayak is it's surf launch capability and speed/maneuverability. From my perspective, the downside of a paddle kayak is not being able to have your hands free. If fighting a big fish, I am unable to pull the fish away from structure without putting the rod down. The other kayakers I fish with have Hobie outbacks. After hooking up, they are able to pull the fish away from structure with their pedal drive system while holding onto the rod at the same time. Pedal kayaks also require less overall effort as your legs are much stronger than your upper body. However, I found that it didn't take long for my fitness to build up and I could comfortably paddle 10kms + without getting too tired. I mainly fish inshore but would do the rare offshore trip (weather/conditions permitting). I spent the previous season mainly targeting kingfish. I mainly caught them with micro jigs but have also caught them using live baits, fresh strip baits and soft plastics. In terms of the sounder, this is an essential piece of kit to have (in my opinion). It makes it so much easier to read the structure, find the bait, find the fish and not waste too much of your time. I have a garmin striker plus 5CV. You won't need anything too fancy. You can achieve quite a lot with just the basic features. Some things to be mindful of: - Your reels will get exposed to a lot of salt water. It's worth having reels that are sealed. - If going offshore, or even being inshore, I would bring with you a VHF hand held radio and an EPIRB. You rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I did my VHF course through Marine Rescue NSW and found it to be very helpful. - I would practice how to flip and re-enter your kayak after getting knocked off. This will save you a lot of stress and anxiety for when/if it happens. Happy to answer any additional questions you have.

Good evening all Long time reader, first time poster. Took the kayak out into Botany Bay area the week before the COVID lockdowns kicked in. Worked various areas within the bay until i hooked these 3 in quick succession. Well worth the cold start. Thermometer showed 1 degree when i left home and 5 degrees when i entered the water). It was not that much warmer when i got out of the water. Managed to make 2 dinners out of these 3 with still enough left over as bait for the next session in search of some winter snappers (whenever that may be).